Rain..

Shimmering crystal drops encrust my window-pane. Tiny droplets run rivulets down the misty glass. My heart gladdens... The rains are finally here.

Rains have always held a special place in my memories. The earliest associations are of a new school year opening with raincoats, umbrellas and the unwilling squish-squish of gumboots, as I was sent off to school. Other memories are of rain pitter-pattering on the tin roof of the school dormitory at night, the sight of wind-swept roads littered with leaves, the smell of satiated earth, the sickly-sweet odour of rot in the woods surrounding the school, hot chai, served as a special treat (in a school that believed in the virtues of Milk!).. the list is endless.

Rains in college were magical. They heralded the beginning of fun times. Time spent at the college canteen, attending Philosophy lectures, bunking English, ignoring Psychology and escaping from History (the subject and the Lecturer, both). Long drives through the rains, getting drenched with nary a care. Rains were a time for romance. For stolen glances, covert looks, worrying about make-up getting washed away. For holding hands, sharing cups of steaming coffee, the works.

Now, times have changed. The rain arrives and all that I can think of are mud-covered streets, wet clothes that refuse to dry, the leaky ceiling near the bathroom door and the horde of insects that routinely invade my home. Mundane.. Very..

But,
There are times, like today when I get up to the sound of the rain, look out of my window and see my entire world transformed into Fairyland. Fresh green assaults the eye. The air is redolent with the smells of the Monsoon, and suddenly, I am transported back in time, where the rains did not have cares attached.

There is a lesson to be learnt in all this, I feel. At times, we get so caught up in the web of everyday life that we cannot appreciate the magic that is all around us. Maybe the rains have just cleared the dust off my rose-tinted glasses... and made me realize how special each day can be if only we let it..